Conservatives lose spending round

Rural and anti-Wall Street politics came together for a moment Tuesday as the Senate approved an estimated $182 billion spending bill after rejecting conservative demands for still deeper appropriations cuts beyond the August debt limit agreement.

Smelling defeat, Republicans pulled their amendment to slow the pace of financial reforms being implemented by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. And Democrats appeared emboldened, even welcoming the next round of the same Wall Street fight when the CFTC and Securities and Exchange Commission budgets come before the Senate later this week.

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POLITICO 44

In this budget season dominated by spending cuts, both agencies are promised double-digit increases under a $21.7 billion financial services bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee over Republican opposition. Rather than shrink from this issue, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is now planning to include the regulators in his next, nearly $98 billion package, which will also include 2012 appropriations for energy and water programs as well as the State Department and foreign aid.

Indeed, Tuesday’s $182 billion bill is the prototype for what will be Reid’s pattern this fall — bunching diverse bills together to save time while still giving senators some alternative to the giant, governmentwide omnibus packages of the past. Speed is of the essence, but the shotgun process still risks a fight with the right in the House, and Reid clearly can’t count on consistent support from his partner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The Kentucky Republican, a longtime veteran of the Appropriations Committee, had encouraged Reid to proceed with the packages but then deserted him to side with tea party forces on a pivotal vote attempting to derail the entire measure Tuesday.

Seven Republicans — including Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, also a member of the party leadership — stood firm, giving Democrats a 60-39 victory. But McConnell’s performance surprised many because the tea party motion went against the August budget accords McConnell helped write and threatened to pit food stamp benefits against discretionary spending for agriculture and rural areas.

McConnell’s shifting stance also could become a problem for his fellow Kentuckian, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers.

Already frustrated by the slow pace of the Senate, Rogers wants a quick turnaround of the $182 billion bill and hopes to bring back a completed conference report by the week of Nov. 14. Attached to it will likely be a must-pass stop-gap spending bill to extend the current continuing resolution set to expire Nov. 18.

The whole process leaves little time for floor debate — a sore point for conservatives already upset with the August funding levels Rogers has moved toward. Add in the fact that major pieces — covering the Commerce, Justice and Transportation departments — have never been before the House, and this puts Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a pickle, given his promise that all spending bills will be subject to free and open debate.

“This Congress has been typified by leadership’s willingness to let the House ‘work its will,’” reads a letter to the speaker being circulated by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) with the backing of outside conservatives. “Given the likely truncated process forthcoming and the persistent attention on getting our fiscal house in order, shutting down an open floor process would clearly send taxpayers the wrong message.”

the man from KY cannot focus because he has to elect a governor from his state. I watched part of the debate and the Democratic Candidate does not even know basic law, that once a criminal, no matter what his or her conviction, whether a registered sex offender or pot smoking loafer, as soon as they fulfill the state's residency requirements, they are eligible to vote.

As such, I ask the House to put the Senate Appropriations Bill on the Calendar for Monday, November 6th. They can come in on the weekend, if they choose, but it will give them time to review this critical piece of legislation, that passed 69 to 30. I believe we should move forward to appropriate as much as we can, as reasonably as allowed. The military will be submitting its budget for FY 2013 in December. They are bottoms up, the rest is subject to compromise and consensus.

Speed is important, with the government operating under a stopgap spending bill due to expire Nov. 18

Speed is never a good word when it comes to the legislative process - it would be nice if Democrats in the Senate could join the adult world where countries adopt annual budgets, once a year, and then live within those parameters. Of course, that would require them to act in the interests of the country as opposed to the interests of Harry Reid and Chuck Shumer who'd rather have their names out there regularly, blaming Republicans for being obstructionists.

When they don't actually have any accomplishments of note, Democrats have to have a reason for breathing and this Kabuki dance of the monthly appropriations is their reason for being.

"The Rural Development Agency and essential air service subsidies for small isolated airports both survived challenges. And on a 60-39 roll call vote, seven Republicans joined Democrats in blocking a motion by tea party forces that threatened to pit food stamp benefits against discretionary spending for agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration."

Notice that the black-hearted baggies want to cut Food Stamp benefits for the poor to maintain subsidies for the rich corporate agri-business--the Republican way. By now, even the dumbest, most bigoted Republican should realize that historically the Republicans have NEVER represented the working class. They are indeed the party by and for the rich which is where the money went with an increase in income from 1997-2007 of 275% going to the top one percent, with the middle class income increase at 40% and the income for the bottom 20% up just 18%. The top 400 richest families made more than the bottom 150 million. While the working class suffer, corporations are posting record profits (like Exxon-Mobile, Koch Industries) while laying off workers and salaries for the Fortune 500 CEOs are up to $10.6 million or 400 times the average worker (it was 40 times in the '70s).

Remember that 93.74% of the National Debt or $14 trillion came under just three Republican presidents: Reagan (who tripled the debt), GHW Bush (who added to it) and GW Bush (who more than doubled it yet again). Over $5 trillion so far was wasted on the 10-12-year, non-job-creating Bush tax cuts while the two Bush oil wars, combined at 18 years, with their lifetimes of war bills and costly VA healthcare are projected to cost another $5 trillion. With the $60 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse from the 435-plus, GOP-approved war profiteers and another $7 billion in missing Iraqi funds, it is no surprise that they want to keep the government gravy train going regardless of the dead and wounded soldiers who they never cared about anyway.

Did you even read the article? Democrats in the senate got Republicans to vote WITH them for a supermajority so that it couldn't be filibustered. It was a bipartisan rejection of pitting "food stamp benefits against discretionary spending for agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration".

With a 72% rise in foodstamp usage in the last 5 years because of the recession, a shortage in critical live saving drugs, and an outbreak of listeria contaminated cantalope last month that killed at least 25 people - I would say this appropriations bill was necessary and good governance.

Remember that 93.74% of the National Debt or $14 trillion came under just three Republican presidents: Reagan (who tripled the debt), GHW Bush (who added to it) and GW Bush (who more than doubled it yet again)

Yes, let's remember, but accurately.

After the disasterous Jimmy Carter term, Reagan came into a deep recession and inflation and in 8 years added $1.87 trillion to the debt. (11% of current debt)

Bush the first, with a Democrat congress, controlling both houses, and raising taxes, added $1.48 trillion to the debt in 4 years. (9% of current debt)

Clinton, in what all agree was boom times in the 90s added $1.42 trillion to the debt in 8 years, his last 4 year term only adding $.4 trillion, due in large part to a Republican controlled congress he had to work with. (9% of current debt)

Bush the second, with the tragedy of 9/11 and all that did to the economy as well as the increase in spending needed for homeland security and two wars, increased the debt by $4.35 trillion in 8 years, much of that in his second term when the Democrats controlled both houses of congress.(27% of current debt)

Obama, in his first two years in office, added $3.54 trillion to the debt. Projected out over his 4 year term, based on his own administration's identified needs to raise the debt ceiling by an additional $2.1 trillion to get them through the 2012 Presidential election, Obama's contribution to the national debt will be $6.2 trillion.(38% of current debt).

So if you want to be accurate, Republican Presidents in 20 years in office are responsible for 47% of the national debt and Democratic Presidents in 12 years in office are responsible for 47%

Clearly, the number 93.74% that you pulled from your ass and assigned to Republican Presidents is worth about as much as anything else that comes from that source. Clearly, as well, Democratic Presidents seem to be far more proficient at increasing the national debt, since it's only taken them 12 years to accomplish what it took Republican Presidents 20 years to accomplish.

However, neither record is something your country should be very proud of and you should be thanking the Tea Party types for coming to Washington and trying to arrest this runaway spending and bring some fiscal sanity back to your government.

I recommend all upper echelon federal employees take a 20% pay cut ,freeze all cost of living increases and begin paying a additional 15% more of their healthcare.All congress no longer recieve monies to spend on housing in the D.C. Area and no longer be entitled to inside information from Wall Street on stocks making illegal.